Functional characterization of the initiation enzyme of S-layer glycoprotein glycan biosynthesis in Geobacillus stearothermophilus NRS 2004/3a

J Bacteriol. 2007 Apr;189(7):2590-8. doi: 10.1128/JB.01592-06. Epub 2007 Jan 19.

Abstract

The glycan chain of the S-layer glycoprotein of Geobacillus stearothermophilus NRS 2004/3a is composed of repeating units [-->2)-alpha-l-Rhap-(1-->3)-beta-l-Rhap-(1-->2)-alpha-l-Rhap-(1-->], with a 2-O-methyl modification of the terminal trisaccharide at the nonreducing end of the glycan chain, a core saccharide composed of two or three alpha-l-rhamnose residues, and a beta-d-galactose residue as a linker to the S-layer protein. In this study, we report the biochemical characterization of WsaP of the S-layer glycosylation gene cluster as a UDP-Gal:phosphoryl-polyprenol Gal-1-phosphate transferase that primes the S-layer glycoprotein glycan biosynthesis of Geobacillus stearothermophilus NRS 2004/3a. Our results demonstrate that the enzyme transfers in vitro a galactose-1-phosphate from UDP-galactose to endogenous phosphoryl-polyprenol and that the C-terminal half of WsaP carries the galactosyltransferase function, as already observed for the UDP-Gal:phosphoryl-polyprenol Gal-1-phosphate transferase WbaP from Salmonella enterica. To confirm the function of the enzyme, we show that WsaP is capable of reconstituting polysaccharide biosynthesis in WbaP-deficient strains of Escherichia coli and Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Bacillaceae / genetics*
  • Bacterial Proteins / chemistry
  • Bacterial Proteins / genetics
  • Bacterial Proteins / metabolism
  • Carbohydrate Sequence
  • Conserved Sequence
  • Galactosyltransferases / genetics
  • Lipopolysaccharides / chemistry
  • Membrane Glycoproteins / metabolism
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Plasmids
  • Polysaccharides / biosynthesis*
  • Protein Conformation
  • Sequence Alignment
  • Sequence Homology, Amino Acid

Substances

  • Bacterial Proteins
  • Lipopolysaccharides
  • Membrane Glycoproteins
  • Polysaccharides
  • S-layer proteins
  • Galactosyltransferases